Author Unknown
The manner in which a
search and rescue unit responds to an emergency provides a yardstick with which
to evaluate its leadership, supervision, tactical planning, logistical
capabilities, and the individual competence of its members. In the instances
where the organization's performance is determined to be only marginally adequate
or even wholly unacceptable, it may be found that the managerial approach to
the operation was unsound from the outset, in terms of mis-expenditures of
time, manpower, or equipment. In other cases the problem may be traced to
deficiencies in basic communication skills, to the extent that team members
were deployed without knowing their precise assignments. Finally, even in
high-risk public safety occupations there is a tendency to respond to each call
for service with merely anecdotal ("if it worked before, it will
work for us again"), rather than the analytical ("what were
the strengths and weaknesses, and how could we have done it?") problem
solving strategies.
In his discussion about the
Anatomy of a Search, Stan Bush cited handicaps to "victim
orientation" that result from "strong feelings of competition,
defensive reaction and pride that can seriously hamper...operations...".
Bush concedes that rescuers "do not have all the answers" and that
"we need to understand that there are different techniques that are
effective".
While there exist some
general guidelines among SAR organizations for collecting and disseminating
information vital to effective field deployment, other agencies are often
called upon in the initial emergency response and are far less skilled in
backcountry operations. There is a need for some standardized approach to
issuing tactical directives at all levels of the operation.
A Structured Format
provides supervisory levels with a checklist of necessary tasks and a
managerially sound method of delivering task-based information to the lower
levels. Secondly, a format sets the stage for continuity in receiving, in
readily comprehensive style, data which the members will recognize as necessary
to the successful accomplishment of the mission. The result, when the members
fully understand what is expected of them and given a reasonable outline of how
to do the job, is an increase in productivity and confidence. This is true
whether weeks or only moments of preparation are available. Finally, structured
formats provide an effective platform on which to conduct productive
post-operation critiques, thereby reducing the tendency to lose direction, to
inadvertently overlook an important trouble spot, or to intentionally justify
areas of deficiency due to "ego involvement". A well-structured
debriefing will also afford ample opportunity for emphasizing the strong points
and complimentary aspects of the operation, the unit and the individual
members.
A complex event like a SAR
operation may best be evaluated by dividing it into its various parts for
simplification. Once isolated, these parts may be more readily examined. During
the actual execution phase of the operation, several of those components may be
active simultaneously, but the academic separation makes it possible for the
team members -- particularly command staff -- to discipline themselves toward
the development of systematic survey and analysis. The point, is that
experience alone doesn't always result in better judgement or even in technical
proficiency. Some mechanism must be available to help the leader to relate his
total experience to the specific task at hand.
The fire service has become
very adept at Situation Analysis. It uses the descriptive term
"size-up" in referring to the mental evaluations made by the
person-in-charge of the emergency operation, which enables him to determine his
course of action pursuant to the accomplishment of the mission. This Estimate
of the Situation (EOS) should begin with pre-emergency planning, and is
based upon the premise that it is unreasonable to expect rescuers to operate
optimally during emergency conditions with no prior academic or technical
preparation. The EOS examines conditions before and after arrival at the scene
as information becomes available and circumstances change; it is an ongoing
process, rather than a single action. The Operation (Incident) Commander
(also referred to as "The Boss") must plan for the effective use of
available time, particularly in the mobilization phase. Backward Planning
is a method of time management that permits the Boss to schedule pre-deployment
activity by allocating maximum time periods for each task requirement,
beginning at a target time (the time of completion) of his last priority
objective and working back to the time of arrival at the assembly site or to
the moment of call-out or first alert.
Whenever possible, the Boss
should personally or by competent representative, make a physical reconnaissance
of the probable search area, by aircraft or from high ground. A map or photo
survey may suffice if those resources are current, and a physical overview is
not practical. An experienced, reliable person who is familiar with the area is
often an excellent adjunct to orientation. Incident reports from previously
conducted actual or simulated searches can provide tactical hints much the same
way that the fire service utilizes pre-fire plans. The other task that should
only rarely be delegated from the Boss's personal responsibility is the
interrogation of the Reporting Party. He should insist on collecting
firsthand information from the R/P to ensure the accuracy and relevancy of
essential data upon which his operation must be based. In his estimate of the
situation, the Boss:
In other words, the
Commander must constantly Analyze, Act, and Anticipate (AAA). His
analysis queries what has happened, who is there to help, and what equipment is
necessary. Upon receipt of First Notice (when the unit leader is
notified by an alerting authority of an impending potential mission), a highly
condensed analysis may be outlined as a memory aid with the acronym LIFE:
Location, Injuries, First Aid rendered or needed, and Equipment
requirements.
The Boss's actions seek to
identify the hazards that do exist, eliminating those problems that can be
eliminated and guarding against creating any new hazards. The Boss anticipates
events or circumstances that are likely, but which have not yet occurred. The
probabilities include climactic changes, the extension of the SAR area of
responsibility due to the lost person's rate and direction of travel, the
reaction times of assisting agencies, and the response times for performing
related tasks. "Worst Case Strategy" is appropriate here, including,
but not limited to, Murphy's Law ("If anything can go wrong, it
will") and Hoare's Law ("Inside every large problem there is a small
problem struggling to get out").
Research by William G.
Syrotuck has indicated that it is more important to recognize that a known
percentage of lost persons is found within a predictable radius than it is to
know how they got there. In his Analysis of Lost Person Behaviour,
Syrotuck therefore, suggests that predictions of the missing person's likely
location is particularly valuable because there are usually insufficient
manpower and logistical resources to search all possible places and because
environmental and physiological factors may make expeditious recovery an
immediate survival factor. An effective management technique for establishing
priorities in search, according to that author, may be decision by consensus.
This method utilizes a vote -- preferably by secret ballot to avoid bias -- of
experienced personnel to determine probable routes and direction of travel,
etc.
With some revision, the Five
Paragraph Operation Order used by military tacticians provides an excellent
vehicle for gathering and communicating essential information for the search
and rescue function. It is an outline of mental evolutions by which the Boss
can assemble and classify the facts of complex situations, determine a solution
based upon those facts, arrive at a problem-solving decision, and then
formulate a plan to execute his decision. Since the format is fairly
comprehensive and will generally cover most of the information requirements,
the Boss should announce at the beginning of the delivery that questions will
be presented during the final phase of the briefing. Also, in order for the
Boss to maintain the clarity and integrity of his briefing in this format,
where no information exists for a given format component, the SAR members
should be informed of that intentional omission. The structure of the Five
Paragraph Operation Order follows the acronym SMEAC as a memory
device.
SITUATION: This introductory paragraph
provides requisite orientation data, but does not explain how the job will get
done or who will do it. It is a brief, descriptive narrative which includes,
but is not limited to, the following types of information:
a) Environmental Factors: geographical features, topography, vegetation,
man-made features, danger areas, times of sunrise/sunset, temperature extremes,
weather forecast, wind-chill factor, etc.
b) Attachments: give the name and location of mutual-aid agencies and
other special assistance assigned directly to your unit (communicators,
aircraft, law enforcement, trackers, cliff, water, or cave rescue technicians,
etc.)
c) Detachments: identify members or equipment normally operating with
your unit that are unavailable for deployment on this operation. If there are
no such absences, say so.
MISSION: This section is merely a brief
"Position Statement" containing the known or assumed location of the
subject, the general nature of the problem in terms of the purpose of the
operation (search, rescue, body recovery, etc.), and the identification of
the tactical area of responsibility of units -- based upon information
presented by the situation. This component explains what the Boss intends to do
but does not detail how he is going to do it.
The mission, capabilities,
and limitations of the next higher and subordinate support agencies should be
defined in this section of the operation order. Be sure to clarify the roles of
each agency for each call-out, particularly when assembling for action in other
political jurisdictions, so that the integrity of command and control is not
compromised, and to ensure that confusion regarding authority, responsibility,
and accountability is reduced to workable levels of efficiency.
EXECUTION: It is tempting to state that this
is the most important portion of the operation order, except for the fact that
each component is interdependent. Nevertheless, this section contains detailed
instructions for every unit member about how the mission is to be accomplished.
Some of the features are:
1) Concept
of the Operation
This goal statement presents a broad overview of the SAR operation and
provides the incident Boss with his first real opportunity to exercise his
creativity. Here, for example, he may relate to a prior similar actual or
simulated exercise with the operation at hand. At a multi-agency response, it
is his chance to win the confidence of the other units' supervisory team.
2) Specific
Assignments
Here is where definite tasks are ascribed to particular individuals,
teams and support agencies. The plan must always provide for some manner of
personal supervision (recognized by the military as the "last and most
important troop leading step"). This is a fine time to extend professional
courtesy to assisting agencies by publicly recognizing their areas of special
competence.
3)
Organization for Movement
Precise travel directions to assembly areas and trailheads, carpooling
instructions, primary and alternate routes of approach and egress (particularly
for helicopter evacuation and ground ambulance), and enroute fuelling
opportunities, where applicable, should be provided in this section of the
operation order. If the unit will travel in convoy fashion, the "Order of
March" will be described, perhaps with deliberate spacing of heavy duty,
winch-equipped or four-wheel drive vehicles. The "Lead" and
"Last-Man" vehicles will be designated in order to foster convoy
integrity.
4)
Coordinating Instructions
One of the most challenging leadership problems is to get the necessary
people to the right place at the proper time. Therefore, this section includes,
but is never limited to, these items:
a) Times of departure from assembly areas;
b) Desired times of arrival;
c) Time and place of inspections or rehearsals;
d) Demobilization responsibilities, such as accountability for equipment
and personnel;
e) Debriefing times and locations; and,
f) Persons to submit after-action reports, line-of-duty injury reports,
communications logs, etc.
ADMINISTRATION and LOGISTICS: The military
professional knows this as the "Beans, Bullets, and Band-Aids"
section of the format. Search and Rescue personnel are no less concerned about
where their vittles will come from, what type of gear they will have to haul,
and who is going to care for the injured. These are some things the Boss must
address in this component:
COMMAND and COMMUNICATIONS: In this
section the Boss will immediately identify the location of the Command Post
(CP), and define the tactical chain of command. It is appropriate here to issue
any pertinent policy statements, such as the management of press relations,
legal criteria for the movement of the missing person if found deceased, or the
abandonment of unit owned equipment. Describe policy for managing on-site relatives
or friends of the lost person. What will be done with well-intentioned,
untrained volunteers? Issue and record all radio call signs that will be used
and identify tactical and administrative radio frequencies. Review any special
field signals such as whistles, smoke, aerial flares, or ground to air panels,
and designate acknowledgement signals if universals are not to be used.
It is important to
determine and announce directives for action to be taken at nightfall or during
sudden inclement weather (define what the latter will be). Publish time
schedules for reassembly, probable criteria for suspending the search, and the
desired format for periodic situation reports (sit-reps) or status updates.
Comprehensive and flexible,
the Fiver Paragraph Operation Order greatly enhances the success of the
Search and Rescue mission by organizing all the available information into a
standard format and reducing the possibility of omitting essential data. It is
an outline for action, and can be used for information gathering, data
dissemination, and task assignment, as well as for post-operation critique.
The Five Paragraph
Operation Order, (SMEAC) is prefaced by the Boss's size-up, or Estimate of
the Situation (EOS), and involves the continuous mental evolutions of Analysis,
Action, and Anticipation (AAA).
A well-constructed plan is
paramount in making the most efficient use of available resources for covering
the search area and effecting the most expeditious possible recovery of the
lost person.